goretober 2k16
by stolashoots
Summary: Goretober 2k16 fics, featuring Kaito and Hato trying to survive in a destroyed Heartland. Warning: excessive gore
1. Excessive GashesLacerations

"You're bleeding," Hato says, reaching out to touch Kaito's back, only to retract his hand when Kaito flinches and pulls away.

"It's nothing." Kaito doesn't turn to look at Hato. He bends over, unlaces his boots, and slips them off. They're caked with mud and grime and will need to be rinsed off before Kaito enters the living quarters with them on.

"It doesn't look like nothing to me." Hato has learned the difference between dried bloodstains and wet bloodstains over the months he's been living with Kaito, and Hato can tell that the back of Kaito's coat is soaked. Even with the already dark coloring, Hato can see a red slash down the middle. "Take off your coat, let me wash it before the blood dries." Hato has already prepared a small basin of undrinkable water for Kaito's return. Clothes in good condition are difficult to come by so what they do have is washed regularly, and the children would worry if they saw Kaito covered in blood.

Kaito climbs to his feet and scowls at Hato, but there's no real anger in his expression. He shrugs off his coat and shoves it into Hato's waiting arms. Without the coat to cover his back, Hato can now see the clean rip in Kaito's shirt, and the gash underneath it.

"Kaito, you're injured." Hato sets the coat to the side, deciding this is more pressing than scrubbing out a bit of blood.

"It's already stopped bleeding, don't worry about it." Kaito's face hold his usual bland expression, not giving away any of the pain he must be experiencing. "I'll deal with it later."

It's easy for Hato to prevent himself from rolling his eyes, signs of disrespect were not tolerated at his old home. He still can't stop the wave of exasperation to hit him; Kaito has been living in this wasteland for most of his life, he should know by now the risks involved with leaving a wound open.

"How are you going to stitch it up when it's in the middle of your back?" Hato asks, knowing he's going to have to push before Kaito lets him help. He doesn't like doing this, all of his training has taught him to be respectful of his superior's wishes and be obedient to them, but Hato won't allow Kaito's stubbornness get him killed.

Kaito doesn't bother trying to explain himself, so Hato continues. "What are the children going to think when they see that? I thought you wanted to keep them away from the violence, not let them see what it's doing to you." Kaito's shoulders slump at that, no doubt thinking of how Haruto would react if he saw his big brother injured. Hato knows using the kids against Kaito is a low blow, Kaito would do anything for their sake, but he won't be able to keep them safe if he gets an infection and is in too much pain to move.

"Kaito, please," Hato says, trying another tactic. "Let me help you. You told me you trusted me, now let me prove to you that I can help." Hato detests using Kaito's emotions against him, he feels vile saying this, but it's all worth it when Kaito sighs and nods.

"Fine Hato. Stitch me up."

They move to one of the side rooms, out of the way where the children won't see them. Kaito carefully removes his shirt, it can be fixed later, and makes himself comfortable lying on the ground while Hato goes to gather the medical supplies and clean water to flush out the wound.

Hato uses a wet rag to clear away some of the clotted and dried blood so he can take a better look at it. The cut isn't deep or wide, but it's long, stretching from between Kaito's shoulders down to near his hip. Hato knows it came from a knife or something similar, and the blade wasn't sharp because it left a jagged slash.

They don't own any disinfectant cream, so Hato can only flush it with water the best he can before starting on the stitches. The needle is kept in a plastic bag, having already been placed in boiling water to kill off any bacteria, and the thread is in small ball. It's actual cloth thread, not like the surgical thread Hato is familiar with. Academia could afford the best medical equipment for its students; Kaito and Hato struggle to even find acceptable alternatives.

The cloth thread will work just fine, though Hato will make sure to take the string out as soon as possible. It's not what he would prefer to use, but he doesn't have any other options.

Hato begins at the top of the cut, carefully piercing the skin close to the cut and then connecting it with the other side. He zig-zags down the wound, closing what he can. Kaito doesn't make a sound or complain when Hato stabs too deeply in with the needle or tugs too hard on the thread. Hato doesn't ask if Kaito can even feel his back, or if the pain is too overwhelming. They don't have any pain relievers; pills were immediately traded for more important supplies, and if they did keep any around, the medicine would only be used for the children.

It doesn't take long for Hato to finish the stitches, he's had practice and the cut is mostly straight. He goes to find a clean shirt for Kaito to wear while Kaito rinses off any blood Hato missed with the rag.

"You did a good job," says Kaito when Hato returns. It's not a thank you, but it is praise, and Hato can feel warmth bubbling up and spreading inside him.

"No problem, Kaito." Hato is delighted he was able to help Kaito, and the feeling of happiness stays with him even as he goes to scrub the blood out of Kaito's coat and mends Kaitos' torn shirt.

 **Thanks for reading! Please remember to leave a comment.**


	2. Primordial Fear

He's alone, yet he knows that isn't true. The darkness isn't real; it's just his eyes refusing to cooperate. Kaito tells himself that he doesn't have to be afraid. After all, stars shine the brightest in the inky black. Kaito thinks that if he repeats this enough, maybe he'll actually begin to believe it and then it won't be so frightening.

But the darkness it haunting. It hides both allies and enemies, and without his sight, it's impossible to tell which is which anymore. Kaito can only rely on himself, but is that even possible when he's blind and in the middle of a war zone?

The hairs on the back of his neck prickle up. He's being watched; not good. Kaito tightens his grip on his bat and strains his ears for movement. If someone thinks they can sneak up on him, they're dead wrong. He doesn't need his eyes when he's got instincts and years of experience.

He hears a noise to his left and it takes all of his willpower to not turn to it. Giving away that he knows where they are will make their confidence waver, and then they might change their plan. All he can do for now is wait and hope he's able to act in time.

They're moving in closer, and Kaito forces himself to relax and listen to the sound of gravel shifting ever so slightly. The waiting is agonizing, and not for the first time he wishes his eyes aren't damaged so he could take them out immediately. That's not an option, however, so Kaito grinds his teeth and stares into the nothingness that is his world now.

When he can hear the sound of fabric ruffling against each other, Kaito knows it's time. The person is to his left; they must have known he couldn't see since they didn't try directly behind him. Kaito tenses and then strikes.

It takes only two hits to knock them down, one at the ribs so Kaito can judge how tall the person is, and then the next is at the head. His aim ends up being too short, and instead of his bat slamming into a skull and shattering it, he hits what he suspects is the neck. There's a crack as the person's spine breaks from the impact, and a thud as they fall to the ground.

"Kaito? Is that you?" Kaito jumps and spins at the sound of Kisei's voice and footsteps. "What are you - oh." The footsteps stop. "You'd expect them to learn by now that nothing gets passed you." Kisei sighs. "I think she's still alive. You want to leave her like that or do something about it?"

There's a gurgle from the ground. Kaito guesses that she's bleeding into her lungs. "Is she Fusion?"

"From the looks of things, yeah."

"She'll be dead soon anyway." Kaito holds out his elbow and Kisei scrambles to get close enough to take it.

"Hey, maybe the dogs will smell her out before that happens. That'd be fun to watch." Kisei pulls Kaito forward and Kaito follows, knowing that Kisei can be trusted to take him back to headquarters.


	3. Surgery

"Do you ever think of just how disgusting you are?" Yuri says, his voice light, but Kaito knows he's serious. Kaito can't see what he's up to, but there's a splash of running water and the snap of surgical gloves.

"Well? Not in a talking mood? That's fine; Hato will soon squeal all of your secrets anyway. He's such a good pet. I can trust him to tell the truth. He knows what happens to those who disobey." Yuri steps into view and slides a surgical mask over his mouth and nose. His eyes glitter behind safety goggles.

Kaito wants to curse at him, but all he can do is bite down on the gag and hope he gets the idea.

"Ah… How I'd love to rip your tongue out first so you'll never be able to spit out filth and lead another one of my toys astray, but it's too early for such a thing." Yuri caresses Kaito's cheek. "One day I'll break you and you'll beg me to keep going. But for now… I think I'll take away something you won't be needing."

Kaito can't imagine what Yuri is talking about, but he knows it can't be any good. He can remember all of the horror stories Hato whispered to him in the dead of the night after waking up from nightmares. Yuri is just about the worst soldier Kaito could have been captured by. He knows this isn't going to end well.

"Oh? Would you like to know what we're going to be doing today?" No. "Well, a little dove –" Yuri winks and Kaito snarls– "told me that your eyesight is fading… If that's the case, then I thought I'd see what I could do to help. To show to you what a wonderful man I am."

Kaito doesn't buy Yuri's innocent smile or the fact that Hato snitched out his weakness. Hato would never betray him like that; Hato was family and will do all that he can to protect Kaito and the children.

"No point in playing around. Let's begin." Yuri first checks the restraints. If they had been loose before, Kaito would have broken out, but now they bite into his skin even without him fighting them. The one around his neck is especially painful, and he has to keep himself calm to prevent himself from yanking forward and choking.

Yuri steps behind Kaito out of sight, but he can feel Yuri's hand threading through his hair and tugging. It doesn't hurt any more than anything else, but it sends a spike of fear rushing through Kaito. He can't move his head at all because of the two boards on either side of his face holding him still. All he can do is gnaw into the gag and listen as Yuri hums what sounds like a patriotic song.

Yuri lets go of his face to poke the area around his eye. Then he pulls back Kaito's eyelid and tapes it down. Kaito's mind is too hectic to understand what's going on, but everything clicks as Yuri tapes down the bottom eyelid. Kaito tightens his jaw. There's no way to escape this. He's going to have to take what Yuri will give. Kaito swears to himself he won't make a noise, won't let Yuri enjoy this.

"Ready?" Yuri sings. "One, two, three, here we go!" Yuri jabs his thumb into Kaito's eye. The pain blinding – or is that the damage being done? He automatically struggles to close his eye but he can't because they're taped open. Kaito is too horrified to look away with his other one, to stop watching Yuri's euphoric expressions and his arm wiggling back and forth.

Kaito can't help it. He screams, trying to shake Yuri away, but he can't move and his voice is muffled. Even through the pain, he can feel Yuri's thumb moving inside his eye socket and the blood pooling down in it and rippling across his face.

"What was that? Are you enjoying this? Here, let me show you a better look." Yuri pulls his thumb out and the emptiness is somehow worse than having it in. Even with the restraints, Kaito is shaking. He can feel sobs building up in his throat and he can't tell if those are tears or blood tickling his ears. He doesn't have to wonder for long.

Yuri returns and holds up a mirror. Kaito squints at it, not recognizing what he's looking at. He doesn't recognize himself with the dirty, blood matted hair or the gouged out eye. He's baring his teeth around the gag, his good eye wide open and wild. He looks exactly as Fusion sees him as. A worthless rebel meant to be put down.

"I think it's quite a good look for you." Yuri reaches out again and slides his finger into Kaito's eye, this time his index finger. Kaito watches in horror through the mirror as Yuri pushes in deeper and deeper until he hits pure muscle. Even with the pain, Kaito can feel his finger gently stroking it and exploring the rest of the cavern.

"Hmm, I wanted to show you what your eye looks like, but it seems I got a bit over excited and made a mess." Yuri swirls his finger in the bloody slop that was once Kaito's eye. "Too bad…" Yuri sighs and pulls out again, moving the mirror away.

Kaito hears the slap of gloves being pulled off and more of Yuri's humming. Yuri's heels click on the tile floor as he walks away. A door opens, then closes.

The pain is worse than anything Kaito has ever experienced before, and there's nothing he can do to stop it. His eye is ruined, and this is just the beginning. Yuri will stop at nothing until he's extracted every bit of pain he can out of Kaito's body.

The door opens again with a cheerful, "Look, I've brought you a visitor," and a startled gasp of, "No… please, no," from a familiar voice.

Kaito closes his good eye as shaking fingers grip into his shirt and sobs fill the air.

He wishes he had done as Hato told him and killed himself before he was captured.

 **[bad end]**


	4. Torture

**4\. Torture**

"I love you," Kaito says and Hato's heart flutters. It's almost enough for him to ignore the pain. Maybe Hato can make himself believe it. But no, they both know it's just another lie meant to ensnare Hato, to keep him from running back to Academia and safety.

But Hato has learned that "safety" doesn't truly exist. Academia was his home, the place meant to protect him, and yet he was isolated and neglected. The rebels in Heartland were supposed to be forgiving and accepting, and yet here he is, standing in front of the soldier.

Rope is too precious to waste, Kaito had explained earlier, so she is tied down with a thick, rusted chain wrapped around her arms and legs, attaching them to the seat's arms and legs. As she struggles, it digs deep into her skin and thin rivers of blood trail down her tanned skin.

They haven't even done anything to her yet, and yet already she fights her bindings, her eyes wide and wild. Her teeth gnaw into her gag, and she lets out the occasional noise of fear. It's not a pretty sight. Her eyes first concentrated on Kaito; despite his small stature, he is the obvious threat. And then they flicked over to Hato and widened in recognition.

He feels as though he's the one in the chair, not the other way around. He can't still his hands from shaking, and he shoves them into his pockets and rub his fingers against his worry stone. It doesn't help, not when the Fusion soldier makes a pleading groan and digs her nails into the wooden arm rest.

Hato can't help her any more than he can help himself. He has to do what Kaito wants otherwise Hato will be the one in the chair or worse. Hato cannot allow that to happen. He must survive this.

Kaito hands him a knife. It's small, the blade only about the length of his index finger, and well taken care of. Hato can't see any visible nicks in it and it isn't rusted like everything else in Heartland.

"Hato," Kaito says in a warning tone and Hato figures he's spent too long studying the knife in hopes of Kaito forgetting what they're here for. "If you don't do your job, then you won't be fed." Kaito's eyes are cold and calculating and they remind him of his old teachers' eyes. Those are eyes that would strike a child down for sneezing in class.

"Hato," Kaito tries again, sighing and relaxing his stiff posture as if to appear more open and inviting. "She's a Fusion soldier. You know she won't talk unless we use force, and we need the information."

It's true. Hato himself has been trained to keep his mouth shut, even at the threat of death, and since it's been months since he left Academia, many of the things he knows are outdated and of no use to the rebels. With the knowledge this soldier has, they could learn any scheduled sweeps or major changes inside the social system. It could save lives.

He gulps, then raises the knife. "This is your last chance. Agree to cooperate, or we'll have no chance but to force you to talk." Despite his internal conflict and rapid heartbeat, his voice is calm.

Even with her obvious fear, she narrows her eyes and shakes her head. Hato mentally applauds her courage. He wishes he was made out of the same stuff as her. Alas; Hato is a cowardly dove, ruled by fear and too weak-willed to defend himself from those who are stronger than him.

Hato buries the blade into her thigh, and she screeches through the gag. Kaito makes a disapproving noise but says nothing; Hato didn't hit any major arteries so she won't be bleeding out any time soon. That means they still had plenty of time to interrogate her.

When the knife is pulled out, blood pulses from the wound and races down her legs. It's thick and black and audibly _drips_ to the concrete floor. Hato had hoped that showing he is willing to use force would loosen her tongue, but the soldier grits her teeth and makes no attempt at communication. Kaito hovers behind Hato like a hawk, his critical eyes following every movement.

Hato gulps, suddenly missing Academia's carding method. In some ways, it'd be much more humane than this. He wonders how old she is. Younger than Hato's 16 years, but surely older 14. She's too young to be suffering in such a way; she's supposed to be idealistic and cheerful like all children are, not a trained soldier resisting torture. She's just a girl.

He slides the blade down her arm, flaying a lengthy portion of skin, and then does the same again down a different area. Two slices of skin fall to the floor. They look more like bloody lunch meat than something that came from a human body.

Already he's beginning to run out of ideas. The teachers didn't teach ways to slowly kill at Academia; soldiers rarely had the time to do such a thing. Interrogation tactics were sometimes taught, but only to students who wanted to go into that field of study.

 _What would Yuri do? What would Yuri do?_ Hato repeats in his mind, and then decides this is a bad idea. Hato isn't Yuri. Even with what he's doing now, he will never repeat Yuri's actions. Yuri enjoyed the blood and the pain; he got off on screams of pain and the look of terror in his victim's eyes. Hato has justification for hurting this girl. If he does this, she'll give him the information Kaito wants. He doesn't take pleasure from this, so he's not truly at fault.

Right?

Moving up to her head, Hato slices either side of her face from her ear to her lips. In order to make the cut deep enough, he yanks out her gag. Even without it, she stays quiet except for whines of pain and the occasional spit to get the blood flowing into her mouth out.

Her ear is too thick to just cut off with a single swing, so he has to saw at it, also chopping away at her long, blood-soaked hair. For the first time, Hato notices her earrings. They're small and were hidden by her hair. Ladybug studs. There has to be a story to them because cute, decorative earrings are banned from Academia. She must have gotten them from one of the other dimensions while out on a mission.

Breaking an Academia rule like that would earn someone a month of detention, including hours upon hours of being the live dummy for physical combat training. It's impossible that she wasn't aware of the consequences her action of wearing the earrings would bring. She knew, and yet she did it anyway.

The revelation hits Hato like a punch to a gut. He can remember his own flavor of deviating from the strict rules at Academia. He would steal flowers from the elite garden he wasn't allowed in sometimes, shove them into his pocket and leave for his dorm. There, he'd examine them and learn from their biology. He too knew that, if caught, he'd be severely punished, yet he did it again and again.

Sometimes it was the small acts of rebellion that kept him alive some days. If he could get away with committing a crime, even one so minuscule, then it proved that Academia wasn't the perfect "true cause" they enjoyed boasting about.

"Hato." Kaito's sharp voice brings Hato back to reality.

"I got distracted. It won't happen again." Hato doesn't look back at Kaito, doesn't want to risk him seeing the cogs in his mind spinning with thoughts and emotions. Hato drops her ear with the cute ladybug earring on it.

He can't keep doing this. He can't hurt this girl any more than he already has. She's just like him; born in a difficult situation and forced to do terrible things to keep herself safe. She would have been killed even if she did snitch out her friends, and her name would be soiled. Perhaps she has family back home who could be prosecuted if she became a traitor. Perhaps she sees Kaito and Hato for what they truly are: monsters.

With a swift movement, Hato slits the girls' throat, slashing the jugular. Blood squirts onto all three of them, and the girl is alive for long enough to widen her eyes in shock, and then she's gone from this world.

"Hato!" Kaito grabs the back of Hato's jacket and yanks him back, wrestling the knife out of his hands before he can do any more damage. Hato falls back onto the floor, Kaito's steel-toed boots on his chest. Kaito is smaller than him, but they both know he can beat Hato in a fight. He doesn't even bother trying to get up.

"What the hell was that?" He doesn't even sound angry, just cool and calm. He kneels down, still half on top of Hato, and gently presses his hand against Hato's throat.

"She reminded me of Haruto." It's a lame excuse and Hato knows it, but he also knows there's still some form of humanity inside Kaito.

Just at Haruto's name, Kaito's body relaxes and he sighs after a second. He lets go of Hato's neck and backs up. "If she had squealed, we might have been able to save more kids like Haruto, you know." Kaito shakes his head. "There will be more soldiers like her. We will just have to try again next time. If you disobey me again, you'll be punished severely. Get cleaned up and return to the others." Kaito leaves at that, grabbing his bat at the door and walks out of sight.

Hato is left alone on the ground with the girl's body next to him.

In a way, he wishes Kaito had killed Hato to get things over with.


	5. Amputation

**5\. Amputation**

"Please don't do this," Hato whispers, "I – I'm your friend."

Kaito's frigid eyes stare into his soul. "Then prove it. As long as you're able to duel, you will forever be a Fusions warrior." He pauses and pushes Hato's bangs out of his eyes, his voice turning soft. "Is that what you want? To be someone else's puppet?"

Hato shakes his head. "I don't want anyone to ever hurt me ever again," he sobs, no longer able to hold back the tears. "I thought you were going to help me." His body shakes and he pulls his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around himself and burying his face into his knees.

"I am going to help you, but first you must help yourself. You're going to have to be strong and break ties with Academia. Can you do that?"

Hato sniffles and looks up. He scrubs away his tears with the sleeve of his jacket. "I – I will be strong."

He is handed the scissors. Hato doesn't understand. "What? I thought you were going to do it."

Kaito shakes his head, an unkind smile on his face. "You must save yourself, Hato. Cut the strings that bind you to evil; repent for your sins and your soul shall be set free."

Hato can't stop shaking. He stares at the scissors. He knows what he must do. Follow Kaito's will or die. There are no other options; he will not continue to be a weapon. "Will it hurt?" He already knows the answer.

"Yes, but you know it's what you must do. You know it's what you deserve. Cut the strings, Hato." Kaito's voice is getting impatient. Hato must act now.

Hato opens up the scissors and slides his right little finger in at the joint closest to his hand. He closes the scissors. His little finger drops into his lap, blood squirting out of it. Hato's mind goes fuzzy from the pain, but he can do this. Kaito takes his hand and wraps gauze around it to stop the bleeding.

The ring finger is next and it goes just as quickly. Hato can't help the little whimper that escapes his lips, and Kaito shushes him as he wraps it.

This is what he must do. This is what he must do. Hato repeats those words and continues, the middle finger coming off clean. He catches a glimpse of bone peeking out between the tendons and muscles. He almost loses it and nearly retches right there. He has to stay strong. If he can't prove to Kaito that he's willing, then Kaito will kill him and move on with his life. Hato can't let that happen.

He can't feel the pain of his index finger because his entire hand is burning. Hato tries to give the scissors back to Kaito, but he shakes his head. "The thumb too." His words leave no room for argument.

Hato nods numbly and tries to still his hands enough to get his thumb into position. He grips the handle and the blades cut into either side of his thumb, slicing through flesh and stopping at the bone.

"It – it won't," Hato sobs, but he's unable to finish his sentence. Kaito takes Hato's hands in his and together they finish the act. The bone crunches, shattering instead of popping clean off. Hato screeches from the pain and Kaito backs away, leaving him shaking and crying. He can't watch as Kaito bandages the last of his fingers.

"Do you feel regret for your sins?" Kaito's voice is the voice of God, and Hato is his Lamb.

"Yes."

"Then tell me what you have done."

Hato tears his sight away from his disfigured hand up to Kaito. Light shines down from a cracked window, illuminating Kaito from behind. He looks heavenly, and Hato knows he made the right choice. He bows his head. "I have killed people and I have made their deaths more painful than necessary. I have betrayed my family…"

"They're no longer your family," Kaito corrects. "I'm your family now."

 **[bad end]**


	6. Cannibalism

**Cannibalism**

"Hato, when was the last time you had meat?" Kaito asks, staring down at the soldier sprawled out on the ground. He's younger than either of them, his uniform absorbing the blood leaking out from the dent in his head. His eyes are wide open, staring forever at nothing.

Hato counts the days on his fingers. "Hmm, it had to be around that time Kisei and Kikuo sneaked out since they brought back a couple of rats. So… A month ago? Two months ago?" He guesses, dropping his arms and shrugging.

Kaito shakes his head. "No, only the kids ate that. There wasn't enough for everyone," he reminds Hato. "When was the last time you or I had meat?"

"Since last yeah, I suppose, when you caught that dog with the broken leg." He doesn't see the point of this; there are no animals anywhere in sight, and thinking about food won't make it appear. If anything, it will just remind them that both Kaito and Hato have been surviving off nothing but boiled bamboo shoots and foul smelling water for the past week and a half

Kaito doesn't respond immediately, continuing to stare down at the Fusion boy. Flies have begun to close in, buzzing around his head and landing in his thick black hair. It won't be long before the smell of blood and death attracts bigger scavengers such as birds, or worse, the pack of dogs that frequent this area. Hato and Kaito are both good fighters, but there's only so much they can do against desperate animals.

Hato shifts on his feet, vigilant as always for any sign of life among the decrepit buildings and waits for Kaito's signal to continue moving. He's becoming restless standing here out in the open with a dead body at their feet.

Kaito kneels down to unstrap the soldier's duel disk. He fiddles with the back, popping it open and removing the tracking chip. It's too small to snap with his fingers, so he sets it down on the tarmac and taps it with the tip of his metal bat until it breaks. He shoves the duel disk in his pack.

"You trust me, right?" Kaito asks, and Hato is stunned at the question. Rarely does Kaito doubt himself or even ask for Hato's input about ideas. Hato has never minded this; Kaito has survived out here far longer than he has.

"With my life," Hato answers, meaning it completely. He owes Kaito everything, and even if they're partners in this, Hato will never forget the things Kaito has done for him.

"Take out that plastic bag you always carry." It's for emergencies, but Hato does as requested. He opens them and holds them out for Kaito, not blinking when Kaito unsheathes his knife to cut open the soldier's shirt.

Kaito gives a final, almost hesitant, glance back at Hato and gives a warning. "I've never done this before. It's going to get messy." He cuts into the soldier's chest. The boy was already dead so he didn't bleed like normal, but as Kaito hacks, the body does begin to leak. Kaito should be using gloves, Hato thinks to himself, but he keeps it to himself. They deal with blood all the time.

Kaito soon hits the ribs and sternum. "Which organs are safe to eat?" Hato asks. He knows about animal organs, but would human ones be different? Kaito only shrugs, then gestures to Hato to move closer with the bag. Kaito hasn't broken the ribs yet; instead, he digs under them with his hands.

The work is gruesome, but Kaito pulls out a few squishy-looking organs and deposits them into the bag. They're heavy, which means they're full of meat. Kaito stops after harvesting something that looks like a liver and a kidney.

"We'll test them on ourselves first before giving them to the kids," Kaito says, wiping his hands and knife on a clean patch of the soldier's clothes. "Just in case we get sick or something."

"We're going to also have to come up with an explanation on how we've found meat after so long." Hato knows this isn't going to be a single occurrence. If they find that they can eat this okay, then it'll be another source of food.

It's… unmoral and wrong, but it'll prevent the hunger pains and eventual starvation.

They're becoming more and more like monsters every day that passes.

(Perhaps Academia is right about them.)


End file.
